And Kaushik loves being the sinister type. “Negative characters are far more challenging and I don’t fear being typecast as the roles that I choose are very different. I am extremely comfortable portraying dark characters.”

It all began with Neel Simana on Zee Bangla...

Where Kaushik played the malevolent Rony Gupta. When the offer came his way two years ago, he shifted base to Calcutta from Delhi where he was born and raised. Offers of negative roles have been pouring in since.

Kaushik takes a lot of care to ensure his bad boy status...

Flowing hair and a stubble are his armour. “I guess this look will fetch me more negative roles. Actually I like to experiment with my look. This look began with ETV Bangla’s Raat Bhor Brishti, where I played the jealous younger brother of Saswata Chatterjee. I owe a lot to this character as it brought me fame and recognition. People on the streets would shout at me. An old lady once screamed, ‘Toke dekhle juto marte ichchhe kore.’ That’s an achievement for me!”

A more complicated role is keeping him busy...

In Sukh on Zee Bangla. “I play Kunal Banerjee, who’s a doting son at home but a shrewd guy at work. He can go to any extent to reach his goal. There’s also a great ego tussle with Samata (Das), the other main character in Sukh.”

Coming up next is a mafia’s role...

In the new ETV Bangla soap Dhoop Chhaya. “I play the elder son in a mafia family. It’s like Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar.”

Kaushik is also excited about playing the lead in a Buddhadeb Dasgupta telefilm...

Nishi is one of the several telefilms that Buddhadeb has recently shot in Purulia. Kaushik plays Naran, a villager who can foresee death, in Nishi.

The big screen isn’t eluding him...

Kaushik, who forayed into films with Jahar Kanungo’s Nishabda, has been signed by the film-maker for his next project. “I have also shot for Rwita Dutta’s Ichchhe Dana opposite Pakistani actress Amina Khan and Chandreyee Ghosh’s Samo… the equals.”